The thin line between love and hate
by Scruffychick
Summary: She'd only heard of most of them, she'd never seen them all for herself. But what did they want? An accidental abduction proved useful for the Akatsuki, but for the pinkette it was truly terrifying. Will Sakura co-operate? The options appeared to be do or die... What choice doe she have? I'm no good at summarising. Give it a chance and review for me please!
1. Chapter 1

Here we go...

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - The Four Musketeers?**

There she was, a pink blossom renowned for her strength and courage, selflessness and perfected medical ninjutsu. She stood tall, but not proud, before Naruto. The pair was wasting some time training, at their usual grounds. Sakura's immense power had scarred the land, and Naruto's rasengan had scarred many of the trees bordering the clearing with intricate swirls; from their previous practices. Their sensei was once again late, he was -as he liked to phrase it: ' _lost on the path of life_ _ **'**_ and the pair had grown too impatient to wait for him any longer.

"I will not go easy on you, Sakura" the blond sniggered.

"Likewise" a gentle grin pursed her lips, as she focused on pulling the finger-less gloves over each thin digit. The day was pleasantly cool, perfect for training, yet the air was dry. Before the two had chance to engage; Sai emerged, dropping down from a tree with a stumble on the border of the training grounds. His mere presence was enough to annoy Naruto to the core, whilst Sakura, she simply smiled at him. Her inner was excited, waiting for the usual rude or sarcastic comment. Sai did not smile back he seemed frigid and uptight. Naruto, blind as ever, did not pick up on this. Sakura did.

Sakura approached Sai, shortly followed by Naruto. They stood at the foot of a crooked old oak, where Sai had just dropped down from. The trio stood before each other with merely meters between them, and at that moment Sakura knew something not so light-hearted was to come.

"What is it, Sai?" she asked hesitantly.

Naruto exchanged his wide grin for a more puzzled look, "hm?"

It took a moment, but finally the dark haired man's lips parted, but as they did no words fell from them. Instead his serious look turned instantly to a more-pale-than-usual attire, accompanied with fatigue. He dropped. Sakura watched as his knees buckled, but she knew he should have fallen backwards, why didn't he? In her experience it was more natural to fall backwards than the answer was clear. Her feet moved before she even had chance to process the information that was playing out in front of her. Naruto raced over to the pair, literally just a few meters away from where he was standing, Sai was laying on his front over Sakura's arms, as she observed the horrific wounds he had returned with. Three kunai were poking out of his back. The staining of blood further darkened his already dark shirt. Resting on his back, tied loosely to one of the kunai was a note. She didn't care, right now all that needed to happen was medical treatment.

"Naruto, I'm going to put him on his side, I want you to hold him still. Do you understand?"

He nodded, a fraction of uncertainty in his eyes. Sakura acted quickly to turn him over; Naruto's hand steadied the man before he rolled back onto his front. Sai could feel everything, yet his body fought against him in a total protest against moving. His efforts to struggle only resulted in him shaking as Sakura began the healing process... His vision was becoming narrower and narrower, he felt as though mentally he was awake, silently enduring every moment... but his body was fast asleep, he had no control. The last thing he saw before the darkness totally closed in on his vision, was two concerned faces and the brilliant green blades of grass and fallen leaves that his head was resting on. His eyes closed, his mind stayed wide awake. She got to work. One thing she noted was that the kunai had been strategically placed; each one was avoiding vital nerves and arteries. The note was also tied on so loosely that if the knife were thrown, the note would have fallen off. This work was done at close range and slowly. ' _Why?'_ She didn't think anymore of it, that was not the matter at hand. She needed to do what she could on the training field and then get him to the hospital as quickly as possible.

With each passing moment Sai's body grew cooler. He did not struggle or make even a mumble sound as Sakura removed the kunai and set about healing the wounds. After thirty minutes, Sakura's eyes met Naruto's...

"These are gravely infected Naruto. I've finished what I can do here, but he needs to go straight to Konoha hospital to treat the infection". Naruto nodded.

"I'll go ahead and warn the medical team of Sai's condition so they can prepare. You bring Sai. Take your time though Naruto. Too much movement could send his body further into shock". The blond carefully sat Sai on his back, holding onto his thighs and throwing his shivering arms over his shoulders.

Sakura picked up the kunai and the note and shoved them in her pocket pouch to show Lady Hokage later, whilst Naruto fixed Sai onto his back. The cherry blossom was so lost in the rush of things that she didn't repeat her direct instruction to Naruto; -she had left and was on the way to the hospital before Naruto had finished gathering Sai onto his back. She pushed her body to move as fast as it possibly could, every part of her was hoping Naruto would heed her simple instruction... And he did... The journey did not take long for Sakura, although in Sakura's mind it felt allot longer than it truly was. The journey for Naruto however was much slower and delicate. He opted to run on the ground as oppose to hopping from tree to tree like Sakura.

She raced into the reception of the Konoha hospital and alerted the team. When Naruto arrived around thirty minutes after Sakura, Sai was taken from him on a stretcher and was carted off to a medical suite within moments of their arrival. The pair watched as their colleague disappeared. Time stood still for a few brief seconds. Although Sai was a new-ish member of squad seven, he was a comrade none the less. The note reintroduced itself into Sakura's mind. She hadn't even bothered to read the message. "Tsunade!" she called as she twisted on her heels and ran off, Naruto in short pursuit.

* * *

The pair made their way to the Hokage's tower within minutes of departing from Sai, they burst into Lady Tsunade's office without a second thought. The woman eyeballed them, a less than amused look smeared all over her face.

"Wait!" Naruto pleaded, "Before you lose your mind, read this Granny!" As Naruto spoke, Sakura dropped the piece of paper onto the woman's desk.

"We found this attached to one of three kunai in Sai's back, he's been attacked. I had to administer emergency treatment at the training ground. He's in hospital now... Let's just hope for the best" she trailed off...

 **" _We're coming"_**

"What on earth?" Tsunade remarked at the two words scrawled viciously on the paper. It was written with Sai's own blood. The older blond haired woman rubbed her temples. "I don't understand. Did Sai talk at all before he, I presume, fell?"

"No my lady." Sakura said firmly. Determination filled her eyes. She simply wanted to know whom it was that had done this and where to find them. Naruto was equally determined but in a remarkably less subtle way. His hands and teeth were having a competition of who can clench the hardest.

"Ugh, Shizune, send the tracking squad in."

Without hesitance the brown haired woman opened the door and in came Hana Inuzuka along with four ninja hounds and three other masked nin. Tsunade offered the hounds a whiff of the string used to tie the note.

"The scent is faint. But we should be able to find someone". With that the group took off, silently.

Once the tracking squad had left, Sakura felt some ease. At least some-thing was being done about this brutal and threatening assault. Her mind couldn't kick Sai's pale and bloodied form out. The way he fell, the way he shook, how cold he was... She had to see him. She needed to make sure he was ok. Even though the slim built man could be a complete jerk at times, he was a comrade, and she wasn't going to lose another one. Tired from her healing session earlier she dragged her feet back to the hospital where the familiar and irritating blond girl, she titled her 'best rival' met her in the waiting room.

* * *

"Sakura, the day's been long. You can't wait here forever". Ino remarked with a scoff. Sakura was sat in the waiting room with a single lily in her hand; she'd picked it on the way from the hokage's tower.

"I need to make sure he's ok, Ino. You'd be the same if it was Choji or Shikamaru!" The young lady sneered and sighed; she'd given up with trying to be calm.

"Fine, whatever. See you tomorrow bill-board!" Ino joked, waving her hand as she left.

Finally, she was alone and could contemplate the days events…

"Miss? Why are you here, it's late!"

…Or maybe not.

"Um, ah… y-yes. Is Sai awake? He came in this morning in critical condition."

"No miss, you won't be able to see him tonight."

She sighed looking at the slow wilting lily in her hand. "Fine… Can you give him this for me?"

"Of course miss" The nurse gently took the flower and left as swiftly as she appeared, as did Sakura.

* * *

The cool breeze of the familiar walk home felt refreshing. The pathway was even, making it easier to drag her feet without tripping. Her mind was everywhere. Questioning 'W _ho could do this to someone?' 'Why would they commit such a crime?'_ and _'who was it threatening the village?'_ A sudden gust of wind set her aback, catching her off guard. She looked up as she stumbled, the late afternoon sun created a beautiful orange scene in the sky. She regained her balance, mentally complementing the skies beauty this early evening; but then heading straight toward her was a ninja, running… Then she saw another one in close pursuit, but not running to catch him, this pair was then joined by more ninja, all running in the same direction… One of them included Yamato-sensei. Something sent alarm bells ringing in her head. She could feel their unsettlement. She turned and chased after them, back to the Hokage's office again.

When they reached the office, it was Yamato's turn to barge in on her today; he was accompanied by seven other anxious looking ninja, and then Sakura. She had no clue why she was there, she simply followed the crowd.

"My lady" Yamato bowed with a sense of emergency in his voice.

"Speak" Tsunade sounded slightly aggravated as she poured her sake from her tokkuri.

"My lady, rouge ninja, at least forty of them were spotted heavily armed and heading toward the village! We caught sight of them less than a mile from the village gate"

' _So that was what the note was about… But why did they warn us?'_ The lady remained calm. The other ninja including Sakura, -who was simply there to find out what was going on; were stood at attention.

"We cannot react rashly. Until they arrive here and clearly display their intent on attacking the village, we cannot attack them. However, we received a note attached to a kunai lodged in Sai's back". She reached in her drawer and tossed the note, now enclosed in a clear bag, onto the desk. Each of the ninja, except the pink haired kunoichi, eyed the scrawled note.

Tsunade continued her sentence "As much as I'd like to deal with this problem before it reaches the gates, we cannot tell for sure if it is them that sent the note. Or if it was us that were to receive it."

Yamato took a step forward, the urgency –not panic, clear in his voice.

"My lady, we need to do some-thing. We cannot let them pass our gates without first knowing their intention toward us".

A sickening feeling swirled in their stomachs.

"You're right Yamato. We will prepare ourselves for the worst. But until it happens, we'll wait."

Without warning Tsunade seemed to burst into action. Orders were barked.

"Double the security on the gate!"

"Hai!"

"Place any available ninja on alert for a possible medium scale attack".

"Hai!"… "Hai!"

"If we are attacked and they breach the confines of the wall, gather all the women and children to the caves!"

"Yes ma'am!"

One by one each of the ninja that had accumulated in the Hokage's office were sent off with different orders. Each of them was swift in carrying out their orders, and spreading them to other ninja in the process. Once they were all prepared all they had to do was wait.

Each squad was strategically placed throughout the village, with a number of squads on standby to replace any that fell. Sakura, Naruto and their sensei were placed behind the gate on the roof of a small sake shop. It was one of the first buildings to be seen upon entering the Hidden Leaf Village. They were on the frontline if a breach were to happen. Everything was silent, with the exception of the common nightlife in Konoha. Gamblers were the most common. The sun had set for the evening and the bright light of the moon was the only light to entertain the land. The ninja were all ordered to stay out of civilian sight and not to inform them of the potential threat until necessary, to avoid panic. Thus, most of the squads were hidden on top of roofs or in less used public areas.

"Man… This sucks!" Naruto paced impatiently back and forth. He hated waiting; this was his worst form of endurance! The pink haired kunoichi twitched.

"Can it Naruto! That is the fifth time you've said that in the past hour!' Sakura's inner was imagining taping the nuisance's mouth closed. Kakashi didn't engage in their petty grievance. He had his head in his book, whilst Naruto joined Sakura sat on the railing, watching the people below.

"They could be near already" Sakura sighed, aloud.

"Or they could be here already" Izumo replied hearing Sakura's statement.

"Stop! What is your business in this village?!" Kotetsu Hagane, placed on the wall above the gate, called out. Straight away all the nearby squads alerted themselves. Izumo Kamizuki was the only ninja with Kotetsu. Naruto and Sakura always wondered why there only ever seemed to be two on their team. There was only silence as a response before a loud cry sounded as Kotetsu fell back clutching his shoulder. A five point shuriken was solidly lodged into his collarbone. What happened next shocked them all.

If any of them had blinked, they would have missed it. There were four of them; each appearing instantly and individually. The first to appear stood on top of the gate staring down at Izumo who was trying to help Kotetsu. One person also accompanied the figure to the left and two to the right.

"N-No way…" Naruto exclaimed with a shiver in his voice.

"It must be a direct assault on the village. If they were after one person there would only be one… perhaps two…" Kakashi's voice grew quieter as he thought out loud and trailed off. A sudden wash of anxiousness filled almost all the ninjas of Konoha stomachs to the brim.

There they stood. Four of them, tall, well armed; and each decorated with a large insidious smirk and a pair of dangerous eyes… Their cloaks flapped wildly in the wind. They were stood in front of the moon, making it near impossible to make out anymore of their identity.

Sakura was the last to say anything, and even so she couldn't say much more than – "A-…Akat…Akatsuki?!" There was a tremble in her voice. Surely the only thing in Konoha they were after was Naruto, so why launch a large assault on the whole village? She didn't know. What she did know was that tonight would be long and she couldn't just focus on protecting the village; but she had to protect Naruto as well. She could not lose another member of her team…

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 _Updated after some great help! Well, let me know what you think. I'd like to hear. More to come._


	2. Chapter 2

Apologies for the long wait.

Please review, constructive criticism is always welcome.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Well, well, well...**

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura stared with awe; their eyes were fixed on the cloaked members in front of them; the swirling red clouds decorating the long garments were almost hypnotic as they flapped within the breeze.

"This is bad" Kakashi stated the obvious whilst simultaneously summoning Pakkun. He didn't say anything. Kakashi pointed at the group behind him and the dog glanced briefly. He knew what to do. The little creature ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, all the way to the Hokage's office.

As the dog took off Naruto and Sakura watched as a small white object was thrown from one of the member's hands - and not just thrown from the hand, it was spat out from within it. There was a faint noise as Chakra was applied and the object turned into a plain white clay bird. It was tiny, around the size of Sakura's fist; the creature's wings fluttered to create a hazy white blur as they moved to chase after Pakkun.

The night was eerily quiet, it seemed that this whole battle would revolve around a staring competition; surely some-one would make the first move soon? Sakura stayed perfectly still, she knew she could not attack first, for she was there to provide medical support, she could not let herself get injured -her whole team would likely suffer for it. Naruto growled uneasily and as the sound left his chest it appeared to spark movement from the enemies. The gate shuddered. Kotetsu pulled himself up, Izumo steadying him.  
"The rogues that were reported, they're-... they're attacking the gate!" Izumo called, to no one directly, but loud enough to alert everyone near by.

"Mmmm, well done" One of the four intruders joked, his smile grew, flashing his sharp pointed teeth;  
"This one sure is a smart one, eh… Itachi?" The voice that spoke sounded cheerfully malevolent. Kakashi's heart felt like it stopped for a moment… Naruto felt a sinking feeling engulf his body. Itachi, the one who'd chased him for so long, the one that drove Sasuke to leave the village in search of power, the one... who had hurt not only Sasuke, but himself, his Sensei and Sakura… was here… Right in front of him. The urge to release all of the built up anger and power surging through his veins was almost overwhelming but the scar that he'd left on his comrades arm last time reminded him to keep the beast at bay.

* * *

Sakura flinched as the four dispersed without any warning such as a hand signal, each of them was running on top of the wall and disappearing in different directions. Itachi and Kisame headed to the North and East of the village, splitting up as they headed for their directions. Deidara disappeared West whilst one member, a member of which Sakura was very familiar with stared down at her. She knew him. She could feel his presence, his Chakra, she knew who he was.

"Naruto… run". She spoke softly, recalling her last battle with this redhead, what escaped her thoughts though; was how he was still alive. She recalled his desperation to finish her and Lady Chiyo off in order to pursue the nine-tailed host, before his death.

"Well, well, well…" He jumped down, shoving Kotetsu out of the way. Izumo once again helped his comrade up. Sasori landed on the same roof that squad seven was situated on. The collar of his cloak was open, waving freely in the wind. The sounds of screaming slowly grew as the other three launched their attacks from separate directions. Why were they doing this?! A question in all the Leaf Ninja's mind. Another strong blow against the gate sent small splinters of wood fracturing everywhere. Kotetsu and Izumo busied themselves with protecting the gate by launching long distance attacks directed on the side where the forty stood. _'If they break in, this will be a catastrophe. It's bad enough with four of the Akatsuki, we don't have the man power and time to deal with forty rogue's as well"_ Kotetsu and Izumo thought the exact same thing, and began heightening the severity of their attacks; even launching paper bombs on kunai.

Sakura's eyes could not believe who stood before her. _Meanwhile_ squads located around the village began engaging with the other three members. Lower ranking and younger ninjas were ordered to evacuate the civilians, by Lady Tsunade who had received word from Pakkun, as well as a brand new gaping hole in the wall when the clay bird impacted it.

"I thought you said you killed this man?!" Naruto snapped, not at her in particular, he was struggling to control his growing anger. How dare they attack his home.

"I did kill him" she hissed back, her mind fumbling through methods of how he could be stood there alive and well in front of her.

"Ugh… Enough waiting around, are you going to attack or not?" Sasori droned, he was the same as ever, impatient –one thing that Naruto and Sasori had in common. Naruto did not need any more of a form of invitation to launch his attack. He summoned seven shadow clones. Six attacked and were brutally slaughtered whilst one assisted Naruto in summoning one of his giant rasengans. As he leapt to attack, an all too familiar weapon was pointed toward him. Kakashi lunged forward grabbing Naruto, pulling him out of the way. It was the same blade he'd stabbed Sakura with nearly a year ago. She stood still, and silent. She knew how to combat him, but she needed to know if he had any new hidden tricks up his sleeve.

"Naruto, we need to work together for this one. He is a puppet master, and when I last fought him his whole body had been turned into a puppet..." She sighed as she tied her pink hair back. Her eyes focused sternly on the character in front of her.

"My oh my, haven't you grown?" Sasori stated in a teasing manor; which in all actuality annoyed Kakashi and Naruto the most, how dare he look at her with such dark intent... "Tell me child, have you grown any skill of your own yet? Or will you be relying on some-one else _again_ hm?" Those words hit Sakura hard, she knew she could fight, Tsunade had taught her very well and thoroughly indeed; however her role here was not to fight.

 _'Stay calm Sakura, focus. Do not let your pride take over'_ She thought silently; _**'Ah, shut it softy! Lets show this bastard what we're made of!'**_ Her inner blurted. Sakura rolled her eyes and flexed her fingers...

"Unfortunately," she spoke just loud enough for the not-dead shinobi to hear, "I'm too old for your games now, I have responsibilities that are far more important than your ridiculous efforts to provoke a reaction".

Sasori sneered and took a long calm breath before producing a scroll... "Very well then, let us begin.

"Naruto, Kakashi, that scroll is a summoning scroll capable of summoning countless amount of puppets, all of which are under his control. Last time all of their weapons were coated in a poison, so try not to get even so much as a scratch"... Before Sakura could continue the puppet master cut her off introducing the blond and the grey haired ninja to his small army. There was no time for them to stare and gawp at the floating objects in-front of them, without hesitance Sasori attacked.

* * *

Tsunade watched from the roof top of her tower as her precious village was attacked. The chorus of explosions from her right was just as ear piercing as the screaming that could be heard from all directions. The clashing of jutsu and the clanging of weapons was continuous, she could even see, only very slightly, in the distance where squad seven were fighting, a dark mass of moving objects around them. She ran a hand through her hair, desperately trying to think of a way to defeat the intruders. Then she saw it, the gate breached and the attack went from a medium scale, to a high scale. The alert was sounded and a messenger pigeon was sent to Suna requesting their help. Tsunade even summoned Katsuyu to heal all the injured. The battle raged throughout the darkness of the night, the sky was often lit by bombs detonated by the now air bound Deidara. Many leaf shinobi fought until their last breath, the village lay in ruin. The former Uchiha residence was raided and Itachi stole many scrolls containing forbidden Jutsu, Sasori fought squad seven viciously. He did indeed seem focused on Naruto and obtaining the jinchuuriki. Deidara even began to aid his usual teammate. The whole fight seemed to be on their side, until Deidara left his area of the village to help Sasori, allowing Itachi to be overwhelmed with Leaf ninja, which caused Kisame to leave his post to help his now fatally wounded comrade.

The rogue ninja that Kakuzu had employed on the cheap proved nothing more than farmers that were given swords, each one perished within minutes of breaching the gates. This whole plan was a disaster, the rogues were supposed to further weaken the village and distract the leaf ninja whilst the Akatsuki killed the troubling copy ninja and obtained the nine tailed jinchuuriki and made their get away before the other ninja had time to stop them. Kisame was eventually forced to retreat back to the main gate of Konoha with Itachi -barely alive, on his shoulder. Once he stood upon the wall they'd all initially made their appearance on, Deidara landed his bird next to them. Deidara hissed as Kisame glared at him.

"You fool, you broke the god-damned formation!" Kisame snarled as Deidara helped him load Itachi onto his bird. Kisame too was in bad shape and would not be able to fight much longer. Sasori was struggling alone against the copy ninja and the excitable blond, he needed back up; each time he wounded one of them that annoying pinkette would ruin the fun and heal them.

"Dammit why won't you all just die?!" Sasori had lost his patience, now fighting alone against the resilient squad seven, he realized as long as Sakura was there to heal them he'd be fighting in circles until he would eventually run out of chakra; not only that, the rest of the group that he'd relied upon were now back on the wall waiting to leave, and the rest of the able bodied Leaf Village Shinobi were on their way.

"Tsk... How troublesome you all have proved to be, well... until next time"... Sasori smirked as he jumped back.

Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura raised a brow as the redhead retreated, but what was more puzzling was the smirk that covered his face. Surely he should be disappointed about his failure? Before any of them had time to debate it, Sakura felt a pair of cold, wooden arms wrap around her, a puppet had trapped her in an embrace. As she gasped it's hollow chest opened up and trapped her within it; three bolts securing the compartment shut. She was unable to move in the tight prison within the chest of the puppet, and what was worse, was that it was absorbing her chakra. She was stuck, in a prison or darkness. Kakashi and Naruto tried to grab the puppet as it too leapt to follow its master, but Deidara deterred them with clay bombs, the smoke of which gave them ample time to all pile onto the clay bird of Deidara's without being seen, and disappear into the distance, high up and out of reach an sight of any followers.

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I hope it wasn't too crappy. Please review, inspiration and constructive criticism is always nice.

Hopefully the next chapter will be within the week, that is if another chapter is wanted. Please let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Part 3, sooner than you thought!**_

 _ **Please review, constructive criticism is always welcome.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Wakey wakey... Rise and shine?**

She could hear them, they were calling her name. It all happened so quickly; not ten seconds ago she watched the infamous puppeteer retreat, her mind and body felt relieved; and in the split second it all changed… she was locked tightly in a small box like holding within the chest of some damn puppet.

"Sakura!" Naruto, he was calling her, she tried to shout back, her chest couldn't expand enough in the enclosed space to suck in enough air to call out back; instead a half hitched "Naruto…" called back, so quietly even she could barely hear it.

She could hear Kakashi shout after her too, along with several other voices… ' _Lee? Tenten? Neji?_ '... She thought quietly, the other Shinobi must have just arrived, surely some-one would help her soon. Explosions then sounded and the calls of her name became muffled as her ears began to ring. She couldn't see it, but she could still feel the shockwave of the explosion that had just gone off, it must have been a fairly large one at that.

Fear quaked through her body. Small pants were all she could manage as she felt the weight of her whole body being forced downwards… She felt heavy; this was as Sasori joined his group and used his strings to jump the puppet aboard Deidara's bird, then they all took off… The group and Sasori's puppet -complete with captive.

It was silent after that, the voices shouting after her faded, all she could hear was the wind whistling past. She was sweating, her body was heating up the small cavern, making the air sticky and humid. She longed desperately to stretch out, her head was between her knees and her whole body was folded tightly into the small cell. Sakura was dire for a sign that some-one was going to rescue her, and soon… but as what felt like hours flew by, there was no such sign.

The Akatsuki landed roughly six hours after they left the Hidden Leaf Village, which stood tattered amongst the trees surrounding it. Three members of the group jumped from the bird landing on solid ground.

"Alright…" Deidara spoke sternly, "my art is not designed for this much weight, you guy's will have to hit the road from now on, you're only a couple of hours walk to the base" he sighed. Kisame groaned as he picked Itachi up from the nape of the bird and threw him over his shoulder sorely.  
"Wait…" Sasori gazed over at his puppet, "...did I forget to mention I have a captive?"  
Deidara furrowed a brow, "And? What of it?" His eyes glanced over to the motionless creation still upon his art.  
"Well," the redhead continued, "She is the one that killed me, the one I have spoken to the leader about… Sakura Haruno… and-" By now Deidara had lost his patience, "And? You are bearing a grudge against her? You've kidnapped her to add another puppet to your ridiculous 'art' collection? Get to the point already, I'm tired". The puppeteer rolled his eyes, he cared little for Deidara's petty tantrums.  
"She is the young apprentice of Konhagakure's Hokage herself. She is skilled in the field of medical ninjutsu". Kisame perked up, suddenly seeming interested in what Sasori had to say.  
"Well, this is the one that is rumoured to have the potential to surpass Tsunade? I'd never have thought it would be that girl… I pictured, some-one a little older for sure..." Kisame's words rolled off of his tongue with ease as he thought freely out loud.  
"When we get to the base we'll see exactly how skilled she is in the medical profession" Sasori grinned cunningly, he'd accidentally kidnapped the most useful hostage he could imagine. He'd initially aimed to capture the jinchuuriki, but as Sasori had leapt to retreat Naruto stepped forward making the puppeteer completely miss and capture his former killer instead. However, considering Itachi's condition and Kisame's for that matter, it was probably one of the more helpful mistakes he'd ever made.

Meanwhile Sakura was feeling lightheaded, she knew that they had landed and could only hear deep obscured voices from outside, she swore she heard her name… 'What are they talking about?!' She thought to herself, she felt some-what panicked about her situation, she had no clue where she was, all she knew was there were four very dangerous ninja outside, and she was alone inside a box… By now the puppet had absorbed most of her chakra and feeling weak her mind began to fade into an unwilling relaxation. Her thoughts evaded her and silenced before her whole body shut down into unconsciousness.

* * *

Deidara had flown ahead after they'd began walking, and had arrived at the base a couple of hours earlier to alert the leader of Sasori's captive. Kakuzu begrudgingly prepared a cell for her and then all that was left to do was wait until the rest of the team returned. Sasori, Kisame and Itachi had arrived to the base after hours of walking, Itachi remained on Kisame's shoulder firmly unconscious whilst Sasori used his strings to walk the puppet alongside him the whole way. A few hours after her mind succumbed to lack of fresh oxygen and physical exhaustion she awoke to a noise which can only be described as a large boulder, being pushed out of the way. They were at the base... The green orbs opened to the greeting of pitch black. Her whole body ached uncomfortably, she was still inside this damned puppet, but it was moving?.. Surely they'd let her out soon… ' _If I don't get out of here soon I'll die_ ' she whimpered quietly to herself, ' ** _Damn woman, man up!_** ' Her inner hissed.

Sasori lead the puppet in and walked it all the way down to the underground prison block, this base was rarely used, so currently there were no others inside the block… well not living ones at least, the bones of forgotten captives laid at rest within their dark cells. Kisame had trailed off to the medical suit, where Konan began observing Itachi's state and condition.

Meanwhile Sasori opened the puppet up… Sakura fell to the floor. Her whole body had cramped into the ball like position she'd been forcibly squashed into for lord-knows how long. The puppet dropped to the ground. She pushed herself up, her whole body feeling fatigued… _Click_ … She glanced down, Sasori's cold hands had ahold of her wrists, and upon both of them were cuffs, he stepped back as Sakura stared at them questioningly. The redhead pulled a chain which was connected to her shackles and pulled it, this heaved Sakura off the ground; as the chain threaded through an eyelet attached to the ceiling. She hung by her wrists from the ceiling of the cell as Sasori secured the chain. Her feet were mere inches off of the ground, teasingly out of reach for her toes to relieve the strain on her wrists. "Goddammit what is going on here?!" She growled, flailing her legs, trying to get even a toe on solid ground as she hung. "Hush now child, if all goes well you have important work to do starting from tomorrow" Sasori hummed with an eerie humor. The barred cell door slammed shut, and the lock clicked.

She watched him walk away, until he was out of sight. She struggled a little while longer before giving up. Sighing with uncertainty she took a moment to inhale the much fresher, cooler air surrounding her. It felt very relieving after the hours spent inside that puppet; but some-thing was off, the air smelt slightly foul… Her eyes began to take in the surroundings; it was dark, there were bars everywhere and… ' _What on Earth?!_ ' alarm bells began to ring in her head as she saw the morbid decoration of littered bones all over the place. Some still shackled…

 _'He's locked us in here to forget about us and die!'_  
 ** _'Oh hush woman, didn't you listen to what zombie-master said earlier? They're going to use us for some-thing tomorrow! Stop panicking and get ahold of yourself, otherwise we're never going to get out… alive'._** She decided her inner was right, Sakura closed her eyes and just enjoyed the more pleasant -yet still fairly unpleasant, air that surrounded her.

* * *

That night? Lord... She had no idea what time it was at all... That night, she didn't sleep a wink. Meanwhile, after securing his prisoner; Sasori had reported back to Pein regarding the girl. He informed him of all the skills he knew about, her strengths and weaknesses...

"So, you have bought her here with the intent of using her medical knowledge and practices to heal the Akatsuki?" Pein inquired, although it sounded more of a statement than an inquiry.  
"Yes" Sasori stared otherwise in silence.  
"And what makes you so certain that she won't do the exact opposite?" The Rinnegan eyes stared at Sasori with such brutality, Sasori could've sworn he was being interrogated by his own leader.  
"Blackmail, the nine-tails jinchuuriki appears to be a close friend of hers, as well as the copy-cat ninja Kakashi Hatake; we'll use this against her. I would bet all my wages to Kakuzu, that so long as we threaten her regarding the fates of her two treasured friends, she'll keep quiet and do as she's told". Sasori remained deadly still.

Pein sat back in his chair, thinking to himself. _'A student of Tsunade's... This girl could cause great trouble... However, Sasori is correct in respect to the health and fitness of us all... Konan can only fix the basics... grazes and minor wounds... If we were to use the captive, then we'd have a medic within the ranks capable of almost anything...'_ Pein's silence as he thought, made Sasori invisibly uncomfortable. The Rinnegan eyes stared an unforgiving stare that even the most hardened of shinobi would feel intimidated within its presence.  
"Very well, Sasori. Should she become a hassle however, the blame is on you. Do you understand?"  
"Yes..." The redhead bowed before leaving. He honestly didn't care at all for the girl, he only viewed her as a medical advantage; he did however feel relieved to be away from his leader's powerful gaze. He retired to bed, everyone else in the base had, and he really couldn't be bothered to do anything else.

* * *

Sakura had hung there for hours, she closed her eyes but didn't sleep. She instead rested consciously, she could sense no-one near or approaching, thus used the time to restore her depleted chakra levels, and plot her grand escape. It felt like it had been days, but in all actuality it was only hours after she'd been locked in her cell, that she heard the door open. Two pairs of footsteps were heard approaching. Pein had briefed the Akatsuki with the information that Sasori had relayed to him about Sakura, even Itachi was awake and listened in on the meeting; he was however, very weak.

She rose her head, several pink locks of hair covered her eyes as they stuck to her face.  
"Wakey wakey, rise and shine!" An excited voice boomed as they stopped outside her cell. Jade eyes stared cautiously at the woman and taller masked nin who was waving at her, as they stood before her on the outside of the cell. ' _What_ _now?_ ' She huffed to her inner as she gazed at the unfamiliar pair. The woman stood with blue hair, and the most unsympathetic expression plastered her face. The other ninja however, stood tall and alert, the childish waving ceased and his arm dropped beside him, Sakura sensed some-thing ominous about this guy. Her whole mind and body were on full alert. Before she could read into the masked man, he spoke;  
"You have work to do..." The voice that had sounded so childish and hyper had changed to a cruel, deep one. Sakura placed her attention solely on him... Some-thing wasn't right about this ninja, just who was he?

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So what do you think?

I hope it's not too lame. Please review, I would also love some constructive criticism, my aim is only to improve with each chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**YOUNGER READERS** : Please beware that there will be some _**moderate**_ language in this chapter and also some **gore**.

Anyhow, here is the fourth chapter.

Here we go!

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - _How embarrassing..._**

She stared, her mouth agape; what on earth did he mean ' _work_ '? She resisted the urge to tremble in front of the pair, this was not the time to cower, this was the time to work out a plan of escape. Before she could begin planning, the cell door opened with an ear-cringing creak that echoed throughout the block. She winced and watched as Konan stepped toward her. She reached forward…

' _This is it…'_ Sakura thought as she braced herself

' _ **Oh hush you big wuss and pay attention'**_ her inner growled.

"Calm yourself, girl" was all the blue haired enemy said, her tone was so monochrome, Sakura had a hard time deciphering whether it was a threat or a 'soothing' statement the woman had just said. Her green eyes watched carefully as her chain was lowered and her feet finally stood welcomingly on the floor. The strangling grip of her cuffs had finally been released, Sakura felt such relief she couldn't help but sigh out loud appreciatively. Konan then placed a rope around her wrists, tight enough to ensure that the girl couldn't escape, but not so tight as to strangle her wrists as before; and removed the previous metal cuffs.

"You'll have to forgive Sasori, ever since he lost his battle to you, he's been merciless when it comes to anyone other than himself". Sakura listened, although every word Konan said flew straight in one ear and out of the other. ' _What in the world is going on, is this woman apologising to me?!'_ Sakura was always one to use her head, but to Sakura this whole situation was impossible, illogical! She was not only alive, but she was a captive shinobi, that was being apologised to by the enemy?! ' _Oh kami'..._

* * *

A few silent minutes later and the trio had made their way out of the freezing, damp, dark depths of the cell block and up onto a much warmer, more welcoming floor. The walls were a warm cream colour, the air was no longer humid and rancid smelling. Instead she considered the scent rather pleasant- as she was thinking about her new surroundings her thoughts came to an abrupt end when she heard:

"What in Jashin's world?! Kakuzu you lying bastard!" The door to Sakura's immediate left flew open, a raging man with the hair colour of a storm cloud (perfectly matching the man's first impression to Sakura) thumped out, before shoving Konan, Tobi and Sakura out of the way as he threw his hand harshly against the wood of -who she presumed, was Kakuzu's door, situated across the hallway from his own.

"Open up you lying old git!" He growled. Soon shuffling was heard and the door opened. Stood tall within the bordering frame of the door was a man with his face covered partially with a cloth mask.

"What is it Hidan?" He sighed lazily…

' _Hm… Perhaps this Kakuzu guy is used to this man's tantrums…'_ Sakura thought in silence whilst staring at the pair. Her mind was totally distracted from her current bound situation, and totally focused on the rather amusing spectacle that was unfolding before her.

"You underpaid me for that last hell-bound mission you dragged me on, give me my money now you stingy tw-" The foul mouthed man was cut off by Kakuzu, who raised his voice to calmly talk over the angry other.

"If you recall, Hidan. I told you I would deduct two percent of your wages for every time you swore. It's your own fault".

"Don't give me that crap, stop being so bloody tight with our wages and give me what I'm owed!"

Konan sighed, running her hand through her hair, brushing a few stray locks from her eyes.

' _This is going to drag… how embarrassing'_ The quiet woman thought to herself, she glanced over at her captive and raised a brow, she seemed to be engrossed and amused by the rambling before her…

"Ahem…" Kakuzu simply cleared his throat and nodded his head in a gesture toward the silently sniggering pinkette. Hidan glared at the man,

"Oh for Jashin's sake what now-... Well hello there little lady" Hidan had turned his attention from Kakuzu, fully expecting his leader to be stood behind him, waiting to dish out another annoying punishment; his mood immediately changed however when his plain eyes set upon the bound short-arse stood between two of his organisation's members. He smirked, and ran a hand through his hair, whilst stepping forward toward the girl. Konan stopped the man in his tracks by placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Not another step" Konan growled. The taller man glared down as he was stopped.

"This girl is on her way to leader, she has no business with you. Now if you'll excuse us…" Her tone turned from an intimidating formal voice, to a more calm and pleasant hum. She pushed past the taller _gentleman_ dragging Sakura along, with Tobi in tow.

* * *

"Wait here. Do not move. Understood?" Sakura stared at the woman as she disappeared through a doorway before Sakura even had time to nod. It was just her and this masked man… This was her chance, she was sure of it. She had rested and replenished most of her chakra whilst she'd been bound within her cell. She knew that her wrists were bloody… Obviously from when she had struggled whilst dangling in the air from her previous bonds. She sighed… Now or never-

"So what is your name?" The masked man interrupted her thinking, his voice was cheery… It was nothing like before… Did this guy have a split personality? Anyhow, she slowly glanced over at him. The only part of his face that she could see was his eye, which was closed in a curved way, as though he was smiling.

"Sakura…" She stated quietly, she began to rub her scabbed wrists against the rope, reopening her wounds. She was hoping the blood would make the rope slippy, which would allow her to free her hands. To the masked man it simply appeared that she was fidgeting nervously.

"Well, there's no need to be scared Sakura-chan!" He hummed...

' _What's with this guy?' her mind questioned._

' _ **Beats me'**_ her inner replied.

Her eyes were trying desperately to remain neutral, she didn't want the man to see through her little plan to escape… Suddenly the rope felt slimy. She began to wiggle her left wrist free from the rope, but still kept both hands hidden behind her back, which gave the illusion that she was still bound. Sakura bit her lip waiting for the moment when-

"Tobi?" A soft voice called from within the wall? Right… behind… her. She spun around, and morphing from the wall was a thing? Was it a person? A plant? Half of it was black and half was white… with piercing yellow eyes. Sakura stared wide eyed, still keeping her hands hidden behind her.

"Ah, Zetsu! What brings you to this part of the hideout?" The masked man spoke with great excitement.

"Blood." The one word sent shivers down the pinkettes spine, the voice had changed, this voice was gruff -sinister.

"Blood?" Tobi asked quietly. The plant creature began to walk out of the wall, his eyes fixated on Sakura.

"Indeed, blood". The man began to grin, Sakura began to back away. Her heart was racing. Her back hit the wall with a sharp thud.

"Zetsu!" it was a male's voice, one she hadn't heard before…

' _Thank Kami…'_ she thought… ' _Saved by the… enemy?'_

Her eyes finally braved to look at what the next monster from this home for nightmares would look like… And he looked like… a human? Well at least that was a relief, he stood in the doorway where Konan had disappeared through.

"Medic, come in". His voice was demanding. Just from his tone alone Sakura knew that this was the man in charge of the monsters. She slowly wandered in, Pein stepped aside for her clocking her free hand, and bloody wrists. His eyes then returned to both Tobi and Zetsu with an unforgiving stare.

"First, Tobi… She almost escaped, do not let your guard down again or I will hold you personally accountable for her escape… and you do not want to experience that. Second, Zetsu… You do not eat captives…" He sighed… "Or at least alive ones… they could hold valuable information. Understood?"

Both men nodded before the door their leader stood in closed once again.

* * *

Sakura was stood within a large room, it was bare of all comforts; including the most basic of which -wall paper… or at least paint. Instead the walls were the bare exposing the plaster foundations. Stood at the back of the room, beside a small window, open just barely; was Konan. Sakura was sure this woman only owned one facial expression… Maybe she pulled that face too much as a child and it stuck that way, Sakura amused herself at the thought. In the center of the room was a desk, bare of almost everything with the exception of one piece of paper and a pen. Behind the desk was an uncomfortable looking chair, made of wood and without armrests, in front of the desk was the same design of chair. Sakura was sure that being stuck in this room all day would define the word 'boredom'.

"Sit, Haruno Sakura. We have much to discuss…" The firm voice spoke again. The kunoichi's stomach felt as though it was in knots. She felt as though she could throw up, if she actually had anything in her stomach to regurgitate; that was when it happened, a low but audible growl sounded in the room. Her stomach wanted everyone to know how it felt -hungry. Konan remained expressionless. Sakura sat down, her cheeks advertising a pink hue, even visible in the low light. She watched as Pein passed her, he appeared to be trying to control a small amused grin threatening to take over his lips. Was he amused? Could the Akatsuki actually feel amused? ' _Oh Kami… How embarrassing'_ She thought. Pein sat before her on the other side of the desk, he took a deep breath before beginning:

"Now then, Sasori has filled me in about you, and might I say from what I've heard you're quite the skilled medic. Is that right?"

Sakura did not speak, she wanted nothing to do with these rogue shinobi. Pein sighed after a slight pause, he spoke once he realised the kunoichi wasn't going to grace him with an answer.

"Well, your accidental kidnap has come in very handy… I have an assignment for you". His purple ringed eyes stared with the utmost intimidating stare at the smaller shinobi sat across from him.

"Your co-operation will be the only key to your successful return to your beloved village. Do you understand?"

' _Co-operation?'_ Sakura thought shakily. She had to return, she had to see her friends… her comrades… Tsunade again. ' _They must be worried sick_ '... Her silent thoughts did not distract her from the glare of the infamous Akatsuki leader.

"You will heal each of the Akatsuki's ailments… The most important currently being Itachi's eyes. Once you have successfully healed the members that need medical treatment, we will set you free. Should you fail to co-operate, well… I'm sure you wouldn't like me to go into that" he let out a dark chuckle, it sounded to Sakura as though it was a warning. In all honesty she didn't want to know… But at the same time, there was no way in this entire world that she would ever help any member of the Akatsuki.

"No." She stated, her voice was absent of nerves, absent of any fear. It in actual fact, sounded very formal.

"No?" Pein questioned, returning the same tone. Konan swallowed hard…

"No." Sakura stated again, her glare becoming more determined, more focused.

"I will not help any of your members. Forget it".

Pein stood up, a wide grin coated his lips.

"Very well then Kunoichi, I'm sure you'll have a very sudden change of heart". His eyes stared directly into hers. ' _Oh Kami… What have I done?!'_.

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Uh-oh! What is Peins plan? Will Sakura surrender and help her enemy?

Please review and tell me what you think! Also what future pairings would you like to see? Let me know!


	5. Chapter 5

**YOUNGER READERS** : Please beware that there will be some _**mild**_ language in this chapter.

Anyhow, here is the fifth chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - A Lethal Encounter**

Shortly after the brief, mostly one-sided, discussion with the tall, sinister rogue; Sakura was forcefully dragged by Konan to another room -only a short distance from the one she was in. Konan threw her inside, with total ease. When the door slammed shut she quivered, the room was pitch black with a very icy chill to it. ' _Oh lord…'_ She sighed quietly. Her pale hands began to wave around her, desperately seeking a wall, or anything for that matter… She'd never imagined what it would be like to be blind… Her thoughts were disrupted when her knuckles impacted with a solid object. Ignoring the bruised throb she felt, her arms extended excitedly to make contact with the wall. Sighing she leant against it.

She was sure she wasn't alone in the room. Every sense in her body was tingling. She didn't dare to move, that was until she felt a gust of humid warmer air, huff past her. ' _That… That felt like a… a breath?_ ' She pondered silently, until another and another drifted past her. She couldn't help but let out a slight nervous groan. There was something in the room with her, something big. Her hands desperately began to feel across the wall, in the opposite direction from where the strange, large breaths were sourced from. As she fumbled away as quietly as she could, she felt a ridge on the wall. Her hand swept over it, flicking a lightswitch… And oh boy… She wished she didn't.

* * *

"Are you sure this is wise, Pein?" Konan queried in a hushed voice.

"Do not worry for the pitiful girl, Konan. I am very sure that I am in total control of the situation". His banded eyes were closed, and he sat with his legs crossed in a relaxed manner; upon his desk.

"Heh, seems like the kunoichi found the lights…" Pein smirked, Konan stared at him. As if perfectly timed, a loud scream echoed through the halls.

* * *

Staring at her were nine huge pairs of ringed eyes. They looked exactly like the pair she had been greeted by, not minutes ago in the office-like room. The creature stood, the nine dog heads all stared at her, their gums rising; showing off their large menacing teeth. Each of the heads were drooling, staring enviously at the chunk of flesh before them. Sakura edged away as calmly as she could. What the hell was she going to do?! Any sudden movements may anger the cerberus; yet she could not just stand there. Each second that passed, the Kunoichi began to rush through possible plans in her head. Each one sounding more impossible than the last. Her green eyes stared as each of the creatures lanky legs began to take a step forward… a step closer… This beast was huge!

Sakura glanced behind her, her mind decided to escape as oppose to try and fight this thing. She turned her back on the creature, swinging around as gracefully as one could when in such a terrible rush. She drew her chakra fueled fist back, and then thrust it forward, as fast and as hard as she could into the barrier before her… Much to her immediate shock and dismay, the wall did not crumble and collapse, instead she had maimed it with a perfectly sculpted shape of a fist, denting it. The wall was made of metal… and only now that she was facing it she realised it was covered in claw marks, bloody stains and scratches… This was no ordinary room, this was a kennel for the hell hound!

Without turning, or wanting to turn she tensed up as a low growl sounded behind her… Right behind her… Within a matter of inches away from her… She could smell its breath, it smelt of rot and death. ' _Time for Plan B'_ She shrieked in her head. Mustering as much power as she could, mentally and physically she turned around once again to face the beast… Beasts? Her fist drew back once more, and then powered forward. The creature was too slow, and as her fist impacted one of its many sets of jaws, the sound of bones breaking echoed, followed by a chorus of loud whines.

* * *

Konan flinched. She could hear what was going on, and when she heard Peins favourite summoning crying out; she knew the kunoichi was putting up a fight.

"Determined, is she not?" She asked rhetorically.

"Very… Well, not for long" he sneered.

* * *

A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, since her first impact on the mutated animal, she had landed another seven, aiming for each head.

"That's eight of you sods down, now there's just you-" Her small victory speech was cut off, she watched in horror as each of the heads began to heal… and not only that, they began to multiply in such a sickening sight.

"No…" Her voice quivered, each punch she'd inflicted, was infused with a substantial amount of chakra, she had carefully divided her supply into equal amounts for each blood thirsty face that launched at her. She only had enough left for one more hit… But now there were almost double the amount of heads from when she first laid eyes on it.

The creature snarled, each face licking its pink gums in anticipation. Little did Sakura know, Pein was watching through the creature's rinnegans; and not only that, he was controlling every movement they made. One paw stepped forward, followed by another. Sakura backed away, her stomach filled to the very core with fear. Her back hit against the cold metal door, her hands desperately trying to open it, but the lock stayed firm. The middle head, seemingly the most dominant of the rest slowly reached forward, placing its wet nose against her forehead. It took a deep breath in, smelling her petrified scent. Tauntingly it then lifted its head back, its jaws opened, drool oozed from its starving mouth. Sakura stared into the throat of the beast that was about to destroy her. The beast let out one large, loud growl as suddenly the dominant head thrust down toward her.

"No don't!" She screamed, throwing her arms over her head in a futile attempt to protect herself. Her eyes were closed tightly, her whole body was tense…

"Please… I'll do anything…" She sobbed out in a terrified cry. A few seconds passed… and she felt nothing… No pain… No rotten mouth devouring her body… Nothing. Slowly she opened one eye, and dared a peek through her arms. The creature stared at her, as though it was dissapointed. It's body seemed to move against its wishes as it retreated to the back of the room.

 _Click_ … She stepped back, unsure as to whether she should turn around to investigate the noise, or keep both eyes firmly on the confusing creature. After feeling a breeze of warm air blow into the room, she freaked out and turned to face what was behind her, fully expecting another beast. But there wasn't… Instead a rogue ninja, with the same eyes as the cerberus, auburn hair framing his head, and a smug smirk plastered on his face, stood tall in the doorway.

"Anything hm?" His voice hummed with humour.

She trembled in sheer terror; unsure as to what she was more scared of. The mutated dog, or the enemy that stood before her. ' _ **Well at least he can't bite your pretty little face off'**_ her inner shared impassively. Sakura silently agreed.

"Yes… I'll do anything". She felt totally and utterly broken. This was against everything Konoha stood for… Against everything Tsunade stood for… Against everything she herself stood for… She would be called a coward… She would be shunned and ridiculed… Ninja were trained to accept their fate… not to beg and plead for their life… and that is exactly what she had just done.

The intimidating man stepped aside, without thinking twice she walked out of the room as calmly and collectedly as she could… Although on the inside she was quaking with fear.

The man stepped in front of her.

"Follow me." He instructed… "If you know what's good for you". The smirk he wore never left his pale lips. Even though she was walking behind him, she knew it was still there, she could feel it. That teasing, humiliating, infuriating smirk. Oh how she wanted to slap that from his pretty-boy face.

"In case you are wondering, Kunoichi… I am taking you to the infirmary. We cannot allow you to heal another's ailments, when you yourself are wounded."

Following normality, Sakura did not reply. This time however, the reason behind her silence was not solidly based upon fear and unwillingness to consort with the enemy, but also shame. Her reputation would be destroyed if word of her cowering escaped this place.. What would Kakashi think of her? What would Naruto think of her? What would Tsunade think of her? What would Konoha think of her if… no, when they found out she would rather live and help the enemy, than die. Her head was spinning, she felt physically and mentally exhausted. Her wrists throbbed, slowly re-scabbing after their gruesome escape from their bonds… Her fists ached from the beating she'd thrust upon the giant creature.

Peering up from her glare at the floor, Sakura saw Sasori. He too wore a smirk… Although it was less humoured than Pein's.

"Not so tough now hm?" He snickered. "It seems I was right after all… You do rely on others to fight your battles for you".

Sakura's breath was hitched. She wanted to close her eyes and wake up from the distressing nightmare, but every time she blinked, her eyes only landed on the same corridor they saw as the closed. With every step further into the endless maze of rooms and hallways, she felt more and more homesick. How was she to trust the Akatsuki? How did she know they would uphold their end of the bargain… For all she knew she may heal them and in return they would kill her anyway… That thought scared her… She in no-way wanted to help the enemy that her friends had fought hard to weaken and defeat, but at the same time she was desperate to see each of her comrades faces again…

As they walked Pein would occasionally glance over at the kunoichi, in total discretion; his curiosity would get the better of him as the strolled past each member of the Akatsuki. He wanted to see her fragile reactions to their petty or snide comments. Initially she seemed uninterested, as though she was ignoring them. But as they passed the final members room -earning her a sinister wink from the grey haired mans flirtatious eyes, he saw a crack in the neutral facade… A single tear trickled down her flustered cheek.

'It doesn't matter how hard you fight, young lady… I always get what I want'. His smirk widened and he turned his attention to the infirmary door. Upon entering the bright, clean room, Konan raised her eyes; smiling warmly. 'Well… I guess she does have more than one expression' Sakura stared at her, discreetly astonished.

"Let's sort you out now… shall we?" A gloved hand gestured to the bed.

Sakura hesitantly sat on the bed, and winced every time Konan touched her open wounds with the disinfectant… Konan was firm, but delicate with her. Which was surprising… She was expecting her to be as awful as all the others… As she thought to herself, the next plan was already in the making… She would befriend the blue haired ninja… And hopefully she would set her free…

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There you have it, hope you enjoyed. Apologies for the long wait. If you want more please let me know... along with which pairing you would like.


	6. Chapter 6

Apologies again for the delay.

Here we go.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Introductions.**

Shortly after her wounds were treated by Konan, Sakura was led to a small bare room; which was referred to repeatedly as 'her room'. Konan left her be, the door was never locked however. The pinkette began to scan her surroundings; a bed, a lamp, a desk and a wardrobe… The bare essentials. She pulled open the heavy wardrobe door and noted that there were no clothes, it was entirely empty. Sakura sighed and sat upon her bed, quietly coming to terms with her situation.

Pein had called a meeting with his comrades; he briefed them all of their newest … colleague; Sasori pitched in to help further their understanding of her abilities.

"So how long will she be here?" White Zetsu hummed curiously.

"Until we have no further use for her" Pein answered in a low tone.

"And then?" Hidan's purple eyes lit up with eager anticipation.

"I will think about that when the time comes…" Pein sighed, he knew he had promised the Kunoichi her freedom, however it would be risky to release her; especially with the amount of knowledge that the clever woman would gain.

"I can help you out…" A sinister voice spoke, black Zetsu was grinning; his large pointed teeth clearly helping to display his interest.

"Or… I could" Sasori also spoke out. "She would be a rather fetching, and useful addition to my collection. Her skills are a rarity that is hard to find".

The redhead and the duo coloured male momentarily glared at each other, it seemed they were already in competition as to who would… ' _get the girl'_.

"Is that all for this meeting?" Konan sighed, her vacant expression as fixed as always.

"Yes; although there is one more thing… You all have a day off tomorrow. Use it wisely however. Train, fix weapons, work on techniques… I do not wish to see any of you lurking around. Understood?" Pein glanced over watching each member quietly nod and mutter to themselves as they left the room; he even briefly heard Hidan utter: ' _Even on our days off he still barks orders at us'_ to Kakuzu, who nodded slightly.

* * *

Sakura had not moved since she had plonked herself on the bed. She knew the door was unlocked; but what monsters lurked behind it? The temptation to roam around and find an escape route was unimaginable; but equally the fear of the monsters that inhabited the base was enough to dissuade her from leaving the room. She rested her head in her hands; the ointment Konan had applied to her wrists and ankles was certainly working, they were soothed and less raw already.

 _Tap.. Tap.. Tap…_

The young ninja leapt to her feet and faced the door, she did not speak, nor did she take her eyes away from the door. It slowly creaked open and a ninja, almost as young as her stepped in. He looked normal enough… Not at all like a monster. His blond hair shielded one eye; and his formidable cloak covered the rest of him.

"Are you hungry...hm?"

Once again, she treated this rogue as she had the others… She did not reply.

"Not much of a talker huh?" The man wandered past her and set a small tray on the desk; in the centre was a bland looking sandwich and next to it was a glass of water.

"So tell me, are you truly the one that took down Sasori?" He stood before her, Sakura was unsure why he even bothered to question her, he hadn't gained a reply from the last one.

"Well… I know you had some help, but even so… I applaud you for your skills and cunning. I've seen many shinobi fall to him; but here you are. Still living. Still breathing-un". Deidara's mouth folded at the corners into a sly grin. The grin faltered however when he saw that no reaction was gained from the small female before him.

"If you wish to survive here, then I suggest you make friends; not enemies…" He trailed off, pulling out a set of clothes from his cloak. "They're mostly mine… Although they are too small for me. You may have them…" He extended them toward her; Sakura glanced down and hesitantly reached out for them.

"See, I don't bite" The man joked… The pinkette couldn't help but allow a small smile grace her lips; the blonde then continued: "Well… the left hand might" He faced his palm up to her with a large grin cascading over his cheeks; "...Sometimes it has a mind of its own y'know? Hm". Sakura's eyes widened in sheer shock and slight horror at the additional grin that decorated the man's left hand. Deidara frowned when he saw her smile fade.

"We all have our differences and flaws… Sakura"; she winced when she realised he knew her name. Just how much did they know about her? "But, we all have our nicer sides too…" The man continued. Each word rang in Sakura's ears.

' _Nice sides? Please…'_ she huffed silently.

"There is a bathroom across the hallway… There's a towel already in there. Feel free to use it" the blonde man smiled again, as he turned and left.

Sakura pondered for a moment; it was just like before with Konan… As soon as Sakura had accepted Pein's deal… she changed… She was a little friendlier; Deidara had been one of the members of the Akatsuki to jest about her as she followed Pein to the medical room… Now he was attempting to be nice to her? Just what was wrong with the Akatsuki? One second they're blood thirsty villains wreaking havoc and chaos onto any poor soul who crosses their path… Then they are more accepting and welcoming toward her. Sakura was confused. She knew she hated the Akatsuki; and she would never dare question whether they were really as evil as she was lead to believe; but what was their game? Why the sudden change in attitude? All she did know was that she would not let her guard down; not for a second.

* * *

After her shower she felt tremendously better; clean, warm, soothed and marginally relaxed. Deidara's clothes fit her perfectly; she was even blessed with a fresh pair of undies! ' _How hospitable'_ She joked mentally. Scooping up her dirty clothes, the young girl dared to unlock the door and brave a peak outside. The hallway was clear. Without hesitating the girl seized her opportunity to dart across back to the safety of _her room_. She shoveled the clothes in the corner and wandered over to the slightly stale sandwich. "Food is food…" she sighed out loud, taking a generous bite.

"Indeed it is" a cheerfully malevolent voice spoke. She froze, not wanting to turn around. She gulped the large bite down and braced herself to see what else had ventured into her room when she wasn't looking. Her tiny feet slowly stepped, turning her around. Before her eyes adjusted to the light emitted from the hallway; she could briefly see the silhouette of a very tall and muscular man. Upon adjusting she realised said man was blue… He had gills… And more menacing than all were the white pointed teeth grinning at her… He was one of the members that had attacked the village…

"Kisame…" Her voice spoke in a quiet, yet defensive manner.

"So she finally talks!" He exclaimed excitedly, before hunching over and covering his mouth as he coughed and spluttered into his sleeve for a short while. After regaining his composure, the unsympathetic Kunoichi listened as he applauded the leaf village's frontline shinobi. She wondered if the man would ever shut up. She found it taunting… Teasing almost that he was speaking about _her village_ , _her home_ to her, as though it was nothing.

"Anyway…" he sighed, taking a more defeated tone "Some of your village's ninja did quite a number on me, well Itachi too" Sakura tensed at the eldest Uchiha's name, the Uchiha that had ruined one of squad seven's life.

"Make sure you eat, you will be healing me as soon as you're able to". Sakura hated the way he spoke, it sounded almost like an order toward the end; an order that she did not want to obey at all; but what could she do now? She had already had a taste of what would happen if she disagreed or disobeyed… And she certainly did not wish to end up in the belly of the beast… The young girl sighed quietly, she was already in the monster's nest…

"Well, I'll be off now… But do not forget my dear friend Samehada can sense chakra… If you try to lie about your levels, and postpone my healing… I'll know". The man once more flashed his notorious grin before bidding her farewell and disappearing down the hall.

* * *

Kisame sighed and joined a couple of others in what they referred to as their 'mess room'. This was a room dedicated to weapons creating, upgrading and fixing; Sasori's puppet making and other such sundries which involved a potential mess. Deidara noticed Kisame's sigh;

"So did she talk to you, hm?" Deidara asked with curiosity present. Kisame lifted his head to return the stare back to the blonde.

"Only to say my name, nothing of interest".

"Then why the frown? Did she call you ' _fishface'_?" Tobi chirped in.

Kisame discreetly twitched at the insult and hissed the word "No" at the masked man.

"Well why are you so blue?" The easily humoured man pitched in again.

"Tobi; if you continue to insult me a third time; you will regret it" Kisame growled whilst simultaneously clenching his large fists. If looks could kill, the excitable ninja before him would be dead ten times over.

"Alright, alright hm… What's wrong Kisame?" Deidara spoke, his temper also flaring slightly at his comrades lack of respect.

"The Akatsuki has always maintained itself. We've never relied on others… So why is it that we have abducted such a runt like that? It will make us look pathetic… Furthermore, what if she doesn't heal me? What if she makes me worse? I don't know… I just don't trust her". Kisame rarely spoke in such a tone; he didn't sound scared or anxious, instead he sounded suspicious and above all sincere. The pain was visible in his eyes, he stood hunched over and had to lean against the wall in order to maintain his upright position; however he was too stubborn to remain in the best place for him -his bed, resting. They all knew Kisame had nasty internal injuries, which if left untreated would most likely be fatal. It was clear to see that Kisame knew he needed treatment, but his brave face was faltering slightly at the lack of trust in their abducted medic. The man was usually pretty positive about anything and everything; but Deidara and Tobi also had their doubts about the Kunoichi.

"As I have already told you, she is the student of the Fifth Hokage… She is a highly skilled medical ninja. You have nothing to be worried about".

The three turned to see the redheaded Sasori, leaning in the doorway of the mess room with his arms folded calmly.

"And that is exactly what worries me" Kisame grunted.

"Why?" Sasori frowned lightly.

"Well, she may make something worse… So that it cannot be healed… And no-one will be able to detect it until it's too late".

Sasori smirked; "I highly doubt that Kisame, she believes that if she does right by us she'll be going home; do you really think she'd jeopardise her only chance for freedom?"

The tall blue man's smile returned to his face, as though all his worries had been put to rest; "Definitely not" he replied, the cool humour also returning to his tone.

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 **Please let me know what pairing you would like.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Apologies for the length of time it took to continue this story; I was waiting on more suggestions.

Here we go.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - Relax**

Sakura sat quietly in her room; it appeared that there would be little chance to avoid her 'assignment' from her apparent 'leader'. She scoffed at the thought: " _Him? He will never be my leader"_. Sakura thought back, remembering his snobbish words the older man spewed from his mouth: ' _I always get what I want little kunoichi'._ How dare he, how dare he order her around; how dare he put her, a shinobi of the leaf, in such an unfavorable position. Sakura ran a shaking hand through her still damp locks. The encounter with the blue skinned, sharp toothed, sly man had left her entirely on edge. What was she to do? The pinkette mused quietly, her initial plan was to befriend Konan and earn her ticket out of here; but she knew that would not be as easy as it sounded. Whatever she did; she knew it had to stay absolutely secret. She did not dare to think of what pain Pein would inflict upon her; the thought of what other monsters he kept hidden, or indeed what he was capable of should she disobey him was enough to send shivers down her petite spine.

During her long and tedious hours of thoughts she ran through every possible scenario she could think of, to get away from this place -and get home. Every scenario however ended with one of two possible outcomes. The first being that a member of the Akatsuki would see through her plan to escape, dob her in and then she'd suffer the wrath of her punishment; the other outcome being that she would have to help the members and thus have to trust the Akatsuki's leader to maintain his end of the deal.

She perched on the edge of the bed, her soft skinned fingers fiddling subconsciously with the hem of Deidara's shirt. Gentle green orbs glanced down to stare at her own bored entertainment. As she huffed she heard a gentle knock on the door. Her stomach dropped; as the door opened and she stumbled to her feet; the only sound that emanated in the room was a soft pit and pat as each foot finally settled.

"Don't worry, don't worry-hm". She recognised the voice before her eyes focused on his form.

"Jeez, you're about as on edge as a mouse surrounded by traps" he joked, scratching the back of his blond maned scalp awkwardly. Sakura couldn't help but quietly agree with him; she was stood in a defensive position, still quaking embarrassingly.

"Please, come with me".

Her pink eyebrow slowly rose, as she eyeballed the blond with caution. He was smiling, leaning calmly against the wood of the doorframe. His ocean blue eye was closed, and his pearly whites on show; he didn't at all look particularly malevolent.

"Hnn…" She sighed out loud, slowly approaching him.

"I promise, nothing bad will come of this… Everyone else is in bed". He chirped quietly as he swung around on the ball of his foot; the floor beneath his sock squeaked causing Sakura to grimace. She couldn't quite believe it; this rogue ninja, and S-ranked criminal was letting her wander around freely,-unbound, behind him; that was another thing, she was behind him in his blind spot, at any second she could simply run off or attack. What was with this ninja.

After a few twists and turns; some ups and downs of stairs and plenty of " _Mind your head on that beam -wait you're too short to hit it… never mind",_ Deidara had finally guided the cautious pinkette to their destination. It was a large room, decorated with carvings of summoning animals; lit with dim oil lamps; and floored with old splintering wood. He wandered over to a bench in front of a carving which looked remarkably similar to Orochimaru's favourite summoning animal, Manda. He patted the bench beside him and Sakura took her pew a small distance away from him. Her eyes danced in the dim light as she familiarised herself with her surroundings. As she admired the crafting of whoever was commissioned to create such sculptures; her attention was quickly diverted to the sound of pouring liquid. She stared as Deidara poured himself and her a cup of Sake. Deidara rose her ceramic cup, his eyes caught a glimpse of hers, which told him to explain himself immediately before he would receive something he'd be less than grateful for.

"Calm yourself yeah!" Deidara grinned yet again, "It's not poisoned". Sakura reached down and softly took the cup that Deidara had left on the bench, and not the one he was offering her. She didn't trust him, it didn't matter how many flashy smiles this guy would gloat; it didn't change the fact that he was a criminal.

"What is this for?" She quietly asked, she didn't want to sound ungrateful at all, she was grateful, her mouth was remarkably dry and her nerves felt awful.

"So you do have a voice-un!" he beamed, almost proudly. Sakura rolled her big green orbs momentarily before returning them back to the man beside her.

"Chill out, this isn't anything to be worried about-un. It is simply two colleagues having a drink; Kisame and I drink all the time. I thought it may help you feel more comfortable around here hm".

Sakura absorbed his words, ' _Two Colleagues'_ … " _In your dreams"_ the kunoichi hissed mentally.

" _ **More like in my dreams!"**_ her inner boasted.

Deidara watched as she turned her head away from him and began to sip from her drink. Her pale fingers trembled as much as her fragile looking hands. He particularly eyed the nasty looking grazes that braceleted her wrists in a soar boast of red.

"I know you don't want to be here-hm" He sighed, as he took a slow sip.

"Trust me… I was in the same boat as you… once". His statement caught Sakura's attention.

"What?" Her voice shook softly as she queried his statement.

"I too, wanted no part of the Akatsuki; leader stated that if I won in a battle against Itachi then I wouldn't have to join".

"Well, what happened?" Sakura sounded more interested than she would liked to have been.

"Well… I'm part of the Akatsuki aren't I?" He chuckled through his words, Sakura's own lips curved at her own stupidity, expressing a delicate smile; that smile then turned to a frown.

"But why are you still here? Surely you have had plenty of opportunities to leave?" The kunoichi mentally facepalmed, why was she so intrigued?

"Well…" the man paused for a moment to sip and swallow, "The truth is, is that we're actually trying to do right by the world...Sure our methods are unorthodox, but some-one has to do the dirty work".

This left the pinkette truly puzzled. Just what was it that this organisation was trying to achieve? She sighed, and as she did she felt a slight twang of dizziness. Deidara watched, amused as her cheeks finally gained colour in the form of a gentle glow of flustered pink. Sakura set the cup down, Deidara immediately grabbed the flask of Sake and poured her another.

"Over time, -Sakura; you will learn the truth of the Akatsuki. For now, just concentrate on fitting in, as opposed to excluding yourself-hm".

"You speak as though my aim is to stay in this -" she cut herself off, she was going to finish with the word _hellhole_ ; but decided against it.

"Your opinion will change Sakura… Trust me, mine did and I am as stubborn as it gets-un!" He joked once again.

Sakura felt oddly calm around this shinobi, she felt that he posed no immediate threat to her at this moment in time… Perhaps that was just the alcohol talking. The two continued to sip from their cups until the four flasks were finally empty. Deidara stood and stretched out; she watched as his shirt rose, exposing his tanned lower abs. Silently she applauded his muscular form, before she realised her eyes betrayal and looked away.

"Well, it is late, Sakura-hm. Let me take you back to your room". The girl nodded, still oblivious to the time, however her eyelids did feel rather weighted.

As she rose from her perch, she wobbled slightly. She felt as though she was walking on nothing. The blond noticed and smirked at her.

"Ah, a lightweight I see-hm!" he snickered, Sakura oddly amused grinned back.

"Well what do you expect? I don't often get the opportunity to drink!".

"Heh, no problem. Just don't pass out". He grinned, as he started walking -at a rather slow pace. The kunoichi followed him. It was odd, she was in her worst enemies' hideout… Drinking with one of her worst enemies? It was truly strange how thing progressed. When they finally reached her room, Deidara stepped aside as she staggered in. He watched as she kicked off her shoes and clambered onto her bed.

"Goodnight, Sakura-un. Remember, the aim is to be accepted in this world, not alone-hm". She watched as he gently pulled her door closed. Mumbling the words "Night, Deidara" as the door finally clicked shut.

" _ **What in kami was all that about?"**_ her inner quizzed excitedly.

" _Eh, I don't care… We'll think about it in the morning"._ Sakura groaned silently in retaliation. Her eyes finally closed, and her body finally relaxed. She concentrated on the bliss of feeling slightly weightless. The only sound that she could hear was that of her own breathing. The pinkette finally passed out.

As Deidara strolled down the hall, a few rooms away from hers he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it that you want, Zetsu?"

"Awh, no fun Deidara" a gentle voice hummed as the men began to emanate from the laminate floor.

" **Don't get too attached to the girl** " a darker voice warned.

"I am not attached to her at all, nor will I ever be. I'm simply welcoming her… Something all the rest of you failed to do".

" **Tch… Just remember, when she's no longer useful… she'll need to be… disposed of** ". The dark voice once again warned. Deidara turned his back on them.

"I do not care what becomes of her hm, but whilst she's here I'm sure it's better to stay on the good side of her. Personally I want my arm stitched on more securely than what Kakuzu did… Not worse, if you catch my drift-un".

The other male...s? Failed to reply; not that it mattered whether he did or not, Deidara had already departed from them, and closed the door as he disappeared into his room.

He tugged his blond locks out of the infamous ponytail he used to control them; sighing he then shrugged off his cloak and shirt, letting them fall to the floor. He too crawled into his bed; his mind cast back to his memory of the pinkette with matching pink cheeks; he felt curiously in good spirits, knowing that he had managed to persuade the pinkette to grace him with a smile. It suited her face much better than any frown or anxiousness ever would, in his opinion… An artist's opinion. His blue eye closed, as he too settled down for the night, with a similar smile upon his lips to that of which the pinkette wore earlier that evening.

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My aim is to start introducing the characters now, and as you can see Deidara was first up.

 **Please review!**

Let me know what you think, I love reading my reviews and reflecting upon how I can improve based on them. I do try to reply too all of them!

Until next time.


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